SOLDIER Dream
by ObsessiveFanNumber1
Summary: We all know that Cloud was never actually a part of SOLDIER. But what if he was? AU version of Crisis Core, will have Zerith, Cloti, & OCxOC later. Temporary hiatus, sorry, go to my profile for explanation.


**Before we really knew FFVII's plot very well, bronze andromeda shun and I came up with this storyline. We went through and added/edited stuff as we played the actual video game. This is the result of that.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. That would be Square Enix that has that lucky privilege. If I did, I would be rich beyond belief and would be able to come up with ideas that could be real games.**

"I don't want to do this." Zack Fair was leaning back, arms crossed, staring at the bus driving up. "I _really_ don't want to do this."

The other 2nd Class SOLDIER with him, Amaya, sighed. "Do you think I _do _want to?" she said, pushing her dark brown ponytail that had been hanging over her shoulder out of her face.

"No." Zack paused. "But I _really, really_ don't want to do this!"

"Neither do I, Zack," Amaya said, trying to stay patient. Zack had been complaining for at least an hour now. "But you want to reach 1st Class, don't you? This and an above-and-beyond mission are all that's standing between you and 1st Class."

Zack stared longingly back at the building. "I really, really, _really_ don't want to do this!"

"Quit complaining! I don't want to do this any more than you do!"

Zack sighed as the bus pulled up. The door opened, and forty or fifty kids poured out. None of them could be older than fourteen, a year younger than Zack. "Hold on," he said suddenly, putting his hand in the way of the bus door.

Amaya glanced at him, surprised. "What are you planning, Zack?"

"Nothing."

"Uh-huh," Amaya said drily.

"I'm not!" Zack protested loudly, then lowered his voice again. "I'm improvising."

Amaya sighed. "I'm cutting in if you lose it."

"Don't worry. I've got it." Zack looked at the kids, who had all gathered in a circle around him and Amaya. "Before we go inside...one question." All of the kids exchanged confused looks, and Zack gave them a moment before he seriously looked all of them in the eye. "Are you willing to risk your lives?"

All of them looked startled. Most of them had mixed, mumbled responses. A few said quiet no's. Less than a quarter of them were definite yes's. One of them especially was looking Zack in the eye with a determined gleam that Zack hardly ever saw outside of a select few members of SOLDIER. The kid had spiky blond hair—spikier than Zack's—and bright blue eyes that were already almost SOLDIER-color.

Zack took a deep breath and continued. "If you aren't, then get back on the bus right now. Because when you're a part of SOLDIER, you _will_ risk your lives. Yes, for the people, places, and beliefs that you care about and believe in, but also for the ones you don't know, don't care about, maybe even hate. So if you don't think you can do that—and even if you aren't sure—then go back home. If you decide you are later, then great, you can always come back. If you aren't, then that's okay; you can stay home and stay safe. Don't try and stay if you aren't willing to risk your lives."

That sent most of them back. _Good,_ Zack thought, glad that he could save some of them. By the time they were done and settled down again, only about ten to fifteen were left, including Spiky.

"I'll ask again." Zack looked every single one in the eye. It killed him, knowing what was going to happen anyway. "Are all of you willing to risk your lives? For the people, places, and beliefs that you don't care about, as well as the ones you do?"

This time it was all definite yes's. Spiky didn't say a word, but he nodded seriously.

Zack put his hand in the center of the circle and grinned at them all. "Then welcome to SOLDIER."

Spiky's hand was the first out there. None of the other kids were far behind him. With a quick smile at Zack, Amaya put her hand on top.

Grinning, Zack pulled his hand back to break the hand-pile. "Come on," he said, motioning with his hand. "Time to go inside." He started walking, and everyone followed inside.

With a look over her shoulder at the kids, Amaya said, "Next up is the painful part. The lab people will line you up, and they'll take care of you from here on out."

Zack pointed up at a balcony just past the lab. "We'll be waiting up there for you to come out," he said, looking at the kids. "Okay?" All of them nodded. With a smile, Zack waved to them and leapt into the air. He couldn't resist doing several backflips before landing on his feet on the balcony.

"Whoa!" several of the kids breathed. Even Spiky looked impressed.

Amaya smiled and jumped up as well, though she didn't do the backflips. "Show-off."

"Hey, they need something good in their heads before they get Jenova'd," Zack said.

Smile fading, Amaya nodded. Then out of nowhere, she punched Zack in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Next time you're going to do something like that, let me know first so I can help."

Zack sighed as he sat down on the bench there. "I was improvising. I didn't know what _I_ was going to say next, let alone what anyone _else_ could say." He looked away. "The sad part is that the President is still going to kick my *ss for that."

"Yeah," Amaya said, sitting next to him. "We're SOLDIER. We're supposed to save lives."

"And none of the kids that weren't sure would've made it!"

Amaya nodded. "After all, who believes for an alien head?"

"Exactly! Telling the kids that we risk our lives for _everything_ is saving them." Zack sighed. "Now if only the _President _would see it that way."

Both of them flinched when they heard the first scream, freezing the conversation. Neither moved an inch until the sound had died out. Finally, Amaya said softly, "Was that—?"

"Yeah," Zack said softly. He'd seen that Spiky was the first in line. "He was one of the definite yes's from the start. I thought for sure he would've been the best of the group."

The sound of metal objects hitting the floor startled them. "What's going on in there?" Amaya said, standing and half-stepping forward.

"I don't know!" Zack said. "I can't see in there any better than you can!"

Spiky staggered out. He dropped to his knees almost instantly, but the two SOLDIER members understood the shock when he forced himself to his feet.

"Hey, take it easy!" Zack darted over to catch him when he stumbled again.

"Ow," Spiky muttered, holding his head in his free hand. The other was on his knee in an effort to stay on his feet.

Zack bit back a laugh. "That pretty much sums up how it feels," he agreed. "Part of SOLDIER is leaning on your comrades, kid. Let me help."

Spiky hesitated before nodding. Then he leaned against Zack, letting the fifteen-year-old support him and help him back to the bench.

Zack looked at Amaya, wide-eyed. "How could...?" he mouthed.

"How should I know?" Amaya mouthed back. She looked as shocked as Zack felt.

"Close your eyes," Zack said to Spiky. "It'll help with the nausea." _Not to mention you won't see the rest._

Cloud nodded, doing what the black-haired boy said. It _did_ help, a lot. He'd be happy to keep his eyes shut forever. But when he heard a sudden scream get cut off just as suddenly, he opened his eyes a little to see what was going on.

A man in a business suit walked out of the lab room after a moment. He was carrying something. The boy and girl SOLDIER members exchanged a look filled with sadness. With a jolt, Cloud realized what the man was carrying. Or rather, _who_ he was carrying.

It was one of the kids from the bus. The kid's skin was mostly a sickly pale, but one spot on his arm was a strained black color. Near his throat, part of his skin was a twisted, strangled blue that was the same color as the SOLDIER members' eyes. It was like SOLDIER's trademark had killed him.

It made every bit and more of the nausea return. Cloud tried not to gag, but he made a small noise before he could stop himself.

The black-haired boy turned, and his eyes widened with anger. "Hey! I told you to close your eyes!"

"I think I'm actually going to listen this time," Cloud whispered, squeezing his eyes shut again. But again, he kept them open a tiny bit.

"Good." The black-haired boy looked back at the door to the lab room.

Another cut-off scream made all three flinch. Cloud covered his eyes with his hands, but he kept his fingers apart so he could still see.

This time was even worse than the first. One of the girls from the bus stumbled out of the lab room. Her eyes were filled with fear, and she tried to keep going, but she fell to the ground face-first.

The SOLDIER girl beat the black-haired boy to the girl who'd just come out. The brown-haired girl picked up the bus girl's arm and put her hand right below the girl's wrist. The girl from SOLDIER held her hand there for a moment, but she looked up at the black-haired boy sadly and shook her head.

Dead.

Cloud's hands dropped to his side. He didn't care that they hit the bench or that hitting the metal stung. The fact that it made noise didn't matter to him.

It did to the black-haired boy, though. "Close your eyes!" he said angrily.

"I'm definitely going to listen this time," Cloud said, wide-eyed. He forced his eyes shut. Then he covered them with the palms of his hands. Apparently that wasn't enough, though; the black-haired boy covered Cloud's eyes, too.

Cloud didn't try and peek again, but he listened hard. There were fourteen people who'd come in, not counting the two members of SOLDIER. He knew what had happened to three of them, but he wanted to know about the rest. He was listening to find out. If it was the business steps or staggering without any talking, then...it was the same as earlier. Only if they talked did it mean that somebody made it alive.

Quiet talking. Business steps. Staggering. Quiet talking. Staggering. Quiet talking. Quiet talking. Staggering. Quiet talking. Business steps. Business steps. Each one only made Cloud angrier.

Finally, they were done. "Okay, you can open your eyes now," Zack said, surveying the group. Spiky and the four others who were alive all did. _Pretty tough group._ "Now everyone, no matter where they are or whether they want to or not, has to acknowledge you as members of SOLDIER. Congratulations, kids."

"What about them?" Spiky said quietly, flames of anger burning in his eyes.

"Hm?" Zack looked at Spiky, surprised. It was typical for the guides to get lectured; it happened all the time, even to Seph. But never this early. _Spiky here is just breaking all sorts of records, huh?_

"They wanted to be part of SOLDIER. You saw that! They wanted to help!" Spiky glared Zack in the eye. "What about them? How could you just sit out here and do nothing while they were _dying_?"

Zack flinched. Not doing a thing wasn't something _anyone _was exactly proud of. But he remembered that these kids didn't have any idea how it was yet, and some of them might not ever. He smiled sadly. "Maybe it's one of the side effects," he said softly.

Spiky seemed taken off-guard, but he didn't stop glaring. "Side effects?" one of the other kids repeated.

"One of?" another kid said.

"You'll get it soon," Amaya said quietly.

"We _can't_ do a thing," Zack said. Rubbing behind his head, he looked at all of the kids seriously. "Look, if you hate me, that's okay. But whether you do or not, believe me when I tell you that we all hate ourselves for freezing up when we hear another scream. There isn't a single member of SOLDIER in this building who wouldn't give anything to be able to change places with whoever's screaming. We know that we can survive it; we already have. To h*ll with an enemy. What kills us is not being able to save the kids who die in there." He looked directly at Spiky. "What's the _first_ thing I said when you all made the decision not to get back on that bus?"

Spiky looked confused. "You said 'Welcome to SOLDIER', but—"

"Exactly," Zack said. "_Welcome to SOLDIER._ The second they all made the decision not to leave, they became part of SOLDIER. Ask anyone here, and they'll tell you the same. I said that everyone everywhere now has to acknowledge that you're SOLDIER whether they want to or not. Everyone in this building will agree that if they wanted to stay through everything, they're part of SOLDIER wherever they are now."

Cloud didn't want to stop being mad at the black-haired boy. But something in his eyes made Cloud realize that the boy was being honest. He hated not being able to help. Unable to bear the sadness in the boy's eyes, Cloud looked away.

Zack silently breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't been prepared for this early of a lecture. "You five will have a week to rest before your real training starts," he said. "Amaya and I will bring you to your rooms. When we get there, there should be a snack in each room. Everybody gets the one that's in _their_ room. Eat it, and then get some rest." The five kids nodded.

"Need a hand, Zack?"

"Aah!" Zack whirled. Instantly, his shoulders dropped, and he scowled. "Seph! Come on! Don't scare me like that!"

Seph was standing there, leaning against the wall slightly, smirking a little. Masamune was strapped at his side, but somehow it wasn't stabbing the wall. "What's the fun if I don't?"

Amaya laughed a little. "Hey, Seph."

"Sorry you're stuck with him, Amaya," Seph replied, smiling as he nodded at Zack.

"Someone has to be," Amaya said with a shrug.

"Guys! I'm right here!" Zack complained. "Seph, shouldn't you keep going before Amaya and I get in even more trouble than we're going to be in anyway?"

"Why? What did you two do now?" Seph said.

Zack stuck his tongue out at him. "The right thing. I'll fill you in on the details later. Just trust me that the President is going to want to kill me again, and leave before there's a chance _you_ might actually get in trouble for once."

"Highly doubt it." Seph walked over. "Call it helping."

Zack sighed, but he grinned mischievously. "Well...fine. Some help would be nice."

Amaya glared at him out of the corner of her eye. "I'm right here, you know."

"Oh, yeah. Some non-thick-headed help, then," Zack said casually.

Amaya narrowed her eyes. "One chance to take that back." She waited for a second. "Chance is up!" She lunged at Zack.

"Whoa!" Zack dodged and looked at the kids. "Okay, changed my mind. One training exercise before your week of rest." All of them groaned. "Don't fall behind!" With that, Zack started sprinting away. Seph rolled his eyes and followed, walking.

The groans turned to laughter as the kids raced after Zack. Spiky caught up to him pretty fast, making Zack gape at him. _What is _with_ this kid?_ Zack realized Spiky was pulling ahead and—more importantly—Amaya was catching up, and he pushed forward faster again.

Finally, they reached the hallway where the empty rooms were. "Your room, your room, your room, your room, your room," Zack said quickly, pointing at each kid and then a door each time he said the two words. "Bye!" He kept running.

"_Zack Fair, get your 2__nd__ Class *ss back here!_" Amaya screamed after him, tackling him from behind. "Got you!"

"Uh-oh!" Zack ducked to avoid a punch to the back of his head.

"Those two never change," Seph said, shaking his head and trying not to laugh. He was standing behind the group of kids.

All five turned to look at him. "Are they are a couple or something?" one of the two girls asked.

"_Zack _and _Amaya_?" Seph repeated, surprised.

"What?" Amaya looked up at them. She had Zack pinned on the ground, and her fist was above his face.

"Blech!" Zack said, making a face. "No way! Who'd want to be _her_ boyfriend?"

"What was that?" Amaya turned back to him and punched him in the face.

"Not a chance," Seph said. A wicked grin spread across his face. "Although I can see why you'd ask. They definitely _bicker _like a married couple."

"Eew! Seph!" Amaya said. "Shut up!"

"Yeah," Zack said. "Way too gross."

"Even though it's true?" Seph said teasingly.

Zack made another face. "Besides, she's already got a boyfriend. I don't know how he can put up with her enough for that."

"Hey!" Amaya snapped, kicking him in the gut.

"Ow!" Zack scampered away, only to run into someone else. "Oof! Ugh, speak of the devil!"

"Kaito, hold him there for me!" Amaya shouted.

"No!" Zack cried. "No no no no no no, hide me from your girlfriend, dang it!"

Kaito laughed. "Sorry, Zack," he said, grabbing Zack's arms to hold him there. Amaya lunged forward and slugged Zack in the stomach.

"Ow!" Zack yelped. "Seph, gimme a hand here!"

"Why should I?" Seph said, laughing.

"Because if you don't, then you'll never get a challenge during practice! Or at least not for a few weeks!"

Seph sighed, though his grin was huge. "Alright, alright," he said, walking past the kids.

One of the boys stopped him. "Who _are _you?" he asked.

Seph smiled. "I'm Sephiroth."

Four out of five jaws dropped. Cloud stared. They'd been talking to _Sephiroth_?

"Seph! Hurry up!" Zack cried.

"I know." Smiling at their reactions, Sephiroth unfolded the one black wing that was on his back. He wrapped it around himself and disappeared, leaving only a few black feathers. He reappeared standing in between Zack and Amaya.

"Show-off," Zack muttered.

"Do you want my help or not?" Seph said, catching Amaya's fist in his hand.

"Okay, you two win!" Amaya said, annoyed as she pulled her hand back.

"Ha!" Zack said smugly.

"Shut up, Zack." Amaya punched him again.

"Ow! Kaito, you have to let go of me now!" Zack said, squirming around. Obligingly, Kaito released him.

"I've done my part, Zack," Seph said, smiling. "You might want to finish with the kids," he added quieter.

"Oh, right." Zack looked at the five kids. "That's all for today. Tomorrow, you guys can buddy up and start exploring, but for today, just get some rest, okay?" They all nodded, and each one went into their individual rooms.

Seph turned to Zack. "Now tell me what happened."

Just then, an announcement rang out over the speakers. "_Zack Fair to President Shinra's office, please. Zack Fair to President Shinra's office._"

"Knew it," Zack groaned. "Listen when I explain to President Shinra, Seph. And please please please help me out of getting punished!"

"If you deserve it, I won't, Zack. You know that."

"He doesn't this time," Amaya said.

"Then I'll do my best," Seph promised.

"Thanks, Seph." Zack sighed. "We'd better go up there fast. Come on."

"Your intention doesn't matter, Zack." President Shinra calmly folded his hands together and laid them on his desk.

"But SOLDIER's _job_ is to save people!" Zack protested for the twentieth time. "Sir, I see these kids every month. I see how few make it. I can see how few even are willing to fight for the things they don't care about! Who the h*ll cares about an alien head? The ones that left _would've died_. All I told them is that SOLDIER fights for everything, whether they care or know about it or not. That's something that everyone already should know!"

"You could've easily given away too many secrets," the President said.

"Like what? 'Oh, sorry, the name isn't a typo'? Give me a break, sir."

"He has a point, sir," Seph said, leaning against the door post. "Like Zack's been saying, part of SOLDIER is that we try and save as many people as we can. All he did is save the kids that went back home."

President Shinra exhaled slowly. "Your opinion is appreciated, Sephiroth, but my decision is based off of the safety of the company."

"So you're saying as long as _you_ look good, a whole bunch of innocent kids can die for nothing?" Zack glared at the monster sitting behind the desk.

"Sir, letting them die won't protect the company's safety any more than keeping them alive. It probably will only do more damage," Seph said smoothly. "If SOLDIER—if Shinra overall—starts being known for the death of children, we'd have more to worry about than we do by telling those same kids that SOLDIER risks their lives for everything."

The President didn't say a word for a few minutes. Finally, he opened a drawer on his desk, took something out, and threw it at Zack.

Zack caught it before he knew if he wanted to. "What's this?" he said, looking it over. It was some kind of CD/DVD-looking...thing.

"A two-hour file that needs downloading," President Shinra said with a hint of a smirk. "Onto one computer in particular." Zack glared at him; he knew what Shinra was talking about. "Get to work, Zack," the President said, turning away.

Zack stormed out the door. Seph rolled his eyes—at both—and followed. Once they were a safe distance away, Zack said, "Thanks, Seph."

"No problem. Sorry I couldn't get you out of everything," Seph said.

Zack shrugged. "Yeah, but you know if you hadn't helped out, he probably would've given me a full-day file or something."

"Probably," Seph agreed. Lightly, he pushed Zack. "Go on, and get to work. I'll show up to lock you in at eleven."

Sticking his tongue out at Seph, Zack sighed. "With this thing," he said, holding up the disc, "and that computer, I'll probably still be there."

**Please review and let me know what you think!**


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